The Past and The Present

Just last weekend was another milestone for our family. Arinn officially turned two. When I say, "officially" I mean that she is two in numbers now but her attitude has been "two" for a while. I am hoping that by entering the terrible twos early she will grow out of it a bit sooner! (Here's hoping anyway) She has definitely been testing her boundaries a lot more lately but at the same time, she is really becoming a great little human being. I love her zest for life and they way she is always learning and developing something new. I wish I could learn that consistently. She loves to play babies for hours on end in her room - by herself. I am so proud of her for learning how to play independently and still enjoying her time spent with Caleb and Carathy and even Steven and I. I just love her so much!

That same day was the day that marked the two year anniversary of Grandpa Schellenberg joining Jesus in Heaven. Some days I still can't believe he is gone but I know he is rejoicing with the angels right now and how could I ask for him back? My kids still talk about him and wonder aloud what he would be doing up in Heaven and I think that is pretty cool. He is still incredibly missed and will never be forgotten. We love you, Grandpa.

The Cross

Last night on our way to church, Caleb noticed a cross for the first time that had been placed in the ditch on the side of the road as a memorial for someone. He asked us what it was and why it was there. Steven explained that it was there because someone had been in an accident and died there and that persons' family had put the cross there to remind themselves of the one who died. Caleb right away asked, "Is that where Jesus died?"
Ummmm, no. Interesting that he would ask, though.

Gem Time Part 2

One day we were able to go to Gem School for the afternoon and play around in the gym. It was good to let the kids out and play but the adults had a lot of fun, too.

Carathy and I.



I think mom had more fun than the kids that day. Katelyn and Arinn loved sitting on the little wheel boards and getting pulled around.


Look at his follow thru!



Katelyn

Hoola hooping Deb

Soon-to-be Uncle Jon

Crazy James

Darren


Dylan

Our whole group. What a fun day!

Gem Time Part 1

These next few pictures are just random photos of our time in Gem.

Handsome baby Jordan

Grandpa Squeaks

Grandma and Arinn

Another beautiful picture of my mom. Isn't she photogenic? Wow - didn't inherit that!

This year before we opened gifts, Carathy got to read the Christmas story. She was very proud to have the opportunity to do it.

One evening we were having snacks and Kelly didn't turn the whipped cream dispenser over far enough. Whipped cream sprayed EVERYWHERE. Carathy was excited to be able to lick most of it up.

One evening some of us played the card game "spoons." Dad was getting frustrated that he couldn't get the spoon fast enough so he came up with he own. Guess which one was his!?!

Kim - ohhh, she won't be happy with me for this one but she is still so beautiful!

Carathy spent some time reading to Caleb and Katelyn. That was some time off for us moms that we all appreciated.


These next few pictures are from when we decorated cookies. The kids had a blast!

Katelyn decorating her cookies - that one would be one to fight for - look at all that icing!

Nice smile!

Happy Jordan

Sprinkle time.

All done.


These pictures are from Christmas Eve before church


My model sister, Deb.

And her model husband?!?
He came to supper all dressed up and didn't want to spill on his nice clothes so he wore one of mom's aprons.

Deb and I.

Our little family.

Arinn - a poster child for aviation.ca?

Our Family Christmas Time

We celebrated our immediate family Christmas the night before we left for Gem. The kids were already in the pj's so they could go to bed right after they were done opening presents. They were so happy to open the few gifts that they received. Our kids have always been very easy to please and hardly ever ask for material things. We have always tried to be very practical with our gift giving and this year was no exception. The kids got money from Great Grandma this year so they all got books. Something that they all use regularly.

Driediger Christmas

These are just a few pictures of our family from the Driediger Christmas. We celebrated a bit early so that we could make it to Gem for Christmas Day.

Arinn showing Aunt Frieda the ropes on how to dress a baby...


Steven

Carathy - happy to be playing with her cousins.

Arinn - just happy
Arinn with something in her hand - as always. She can always be found with something small in her hands.

My precious Caleb.

Sporting his new Canucks jersey.

Get To The Manger

This year I was kind of half in charge of the children's Christmas musical called Get To The Manger. It was a lot of fun getting it ready - even if it did seem like I would never finish all that I needed to do. I spent many, many hours getting things (with tons of help) but it was worth it all. The kids did a fantastic job and the message of the manger was clear.


This is Caleb's class. They were all dressed as animals that went to see baby Jesus in the manger.


Caleb was a bull. His line was, "moo." It was really cute!


This is the set that Steven's uncle Ted painted up. The whole musical is set in a mall and that is exactly what it looks like! He did an amazing job!


Carathy's part was right at the beginning. She held glow sticks and did actions (in the dark) to the opening song (O Holy Night) with 8 other girls. It was a really great way to open the musical. This picture of her is of her doing the actions during one of the other songs.


This is a picture of the whole group. The "merry christmas" that you see at the top of the picture was colored by all of the kids before practices began each week. It was a nice way to incorporate them into the decorations. The starts that you can see in the upper left hand corner were made by Steven. I saw a 3-D cardboard star in Ikea that I wanted and he agreed to make some for me. The were incredible!